Creature of the Night
by Politics.and.Prose
Summary: SPOILERS FOR 2.05. Missing scene. Sam and Rachel rehearse Toucha Toucha Toucha Me. And get caught at the end. Finchel all the way!


Sam peeked around the corner and was relieved to see that Rachel was alone at her locker. Finn was usually with her and he _did not_ want to have this conversation in front of her boyfriend. (He glanced behind himself to make sure his not-quite girlfriend wasn't anywhere near either.)

It wasn't that he thought it was a _bad_ idea. He knew people would know that he and Rachel were rehearsing. It was just that he didn't want Finn to get all … anxious … and Quinn to think that he was going to turn into Finn Hudson: The Next Generation and leave her for Rachel.

Not that he even thought of it. Because Rachel Berry? Completely insane.

He took a deep, fortifying breath and marched down the hallways towards Rachel. He stood behind her open locker, waiting for her to acknowledge him.

"Finn, how many times have I told you that – ACK!" she cried out as she shut her locker and looked over to see Sam there instead of her boyfriend. "Sam! You surprised me. What can I do for you?" she asked as she motioned for him to walk with her down the hall.

Not trusting that the hallways were completely empty, he placed his hands on her upper arms to still her. He almost smiled at the confused and slightly affronted look on her face. "I'd rather talk here."

"Okay …" she said slowly, taking a slight step back to remove his hands from her arms. "What is it?"

"I think we should rehearse."

"Is that all?" she smiled. "I know the schedule has been slightly lax so far, but I can assure you that I've come up with a rehearsal schedule that, while demanding, will keep each of us on task. I've already scheduled a time to discuss it with Mr. Schuester. Someone needs to take the initiative to get this show up and running."

Sam stared at her for a moment, his mind attempting to process what she had just said. He shook his head and then smiled slightly. "I don't mean a cast rehearsal. I mean you and me. We have a pretty intimate scene and I think that we should be pretty comfortable with it before we have to do it in front of everyone. I mean, how awkward would it be with Mr. Schue telling you where to put your hands and when and how to shimmy and, you know … I don't need him to have to method act as you to show you where to put your hands on my body. It's kinda weird, you know?"

"So what you're saying is that you want to rehearse. Alone. With me. So that we can get used to each other's bodies intimately so that we're not uncomfortable in rehearsal?"

"Yes!" Sam cried out, a wide smile stretching across his face. "Exactly. Just you, me, and you toucha-toucha-touchin' me."

Rachel gasped and took a step back, barely resisting the urge to slap him. "Sam! You should know by now that I'm with Finn _exclusively_!"

"Wait. What?"

"I won't deny that you're attractive, Sam. In that bleached-blonde surfer kind of way, of course. But Finn and I are together and _no one_ is going to come between us. I care for him very deeply and I may even lo … well, let's just keep it at I care for him deeply and I refuse to throw away what we have for a musical!"

"No, Rachel," Sam amended quickly. "That's not what I meant at all." He took a step back and held his hands in front of him in submission. "It's not that you're not pretty. But, you know, I like Quinn. We're sort of not dating but kind of have been on dates, you know?" he continued, eyes wandering towards the ceiling.

"Sam!" Rachel said as she stretched her arm out to snap her fingers in front of his face. "Focus. Please. You just want to rehearse?"

"Yes."

"You have no ulterior motive?"

"None," he told her as he shook his head seriously. "Just want us to be able to get in that tank and pretend to do the nasty without being completely uncomfortable." He paused. "But I would really appreciate it if we kept it solely between us. No Finn, no Quinn. Just you and me. Because having them there would be really awkward."

"I don't know if I like this idea very much," Rachel told him seriously.

Truth be told, she didn't like it at all. She and Finn had decided up front that they would be completely honest with each other. Hiding things always got them into trouble.

"Rachel, seriously. What could happen?" he asked as he pasted on a winning smile.

She stared at him for a moment, unsure if she should make a comment about Quinn's pregnancy as a counter to his ridiculous question, but decided it would be in poor taste. And besides, she had no intentions of actually _doing_ anything with him. The script didn't even call for a kiss.

And he wasn't wrong. The Toucha scene really _was_ intimate and it would be better for all parties involved if they got those first-time jitters out of the way.

"Fine," she said with a serious nod. "Meet me in the auditorium at 3:15. Unless you have to be at football?"

"Still can't play," he told her. "Have another week to sit out. So I'll see you then."

"Agreed," she nodded and they turned and walked off in the opposite direction.

-x-

When Sam entered the auditorium at the agreed upon time, he found Rachel sitting on the top rung of one of the ladders of the tank, her right knee jumping nervously. "You okay?"

"I'm not taking my clothes off!"

"Oh … kay," Sam said as he walked closer to her. "You see why I said we need to rehearse this? We need to move past the discomfort and awkwardness." He smiled slightly as she nodded. "Great. Do you have the music?"

She nodded again. "Just hit play," she told him as she climbed down. "Actually, get in the tank. I'll take care of the music."

"This is going to sound so wrong," he said, eyes looking anywhere but her, "But do you think we should, you know, _touch_ before we get into the acting? Just so we know the … the safe zones? Like, where I can touch you and where I can't?"

"Don't touch anything you wouldn't touch on your mother or sister," she told him seriously. "Stick to those rules and you and I should have no trouble getting through this. I say we run through it once without stopping and then we can go back and work on problem areas. Okay?"

"Sure," he said as he climbed the ladder and into the tank. "Okay," he continued, "you've just said 'I'll dress your wounds for you'. Aaaaannnnndddd, go!"

_I really wish I was doing this with Finn_, Rachel thought before pressing play and running back to grab Sam's hand.

"_I was feeling done in_," Rachel sang, her eyes looking up at Sam through her lashes. "Couldn't _win. I'd only ever kissed before_." She paused for Magenta and Columbia's part. "_I felt there's no use getting, into heavy sweating_ …" she ran her fingers lightly up Sam's arm. "_It only leads to trouble and … bad fretting._" Her fingers trailed across his collar bone and stopped between his pecs.

She ran her fingers across his chest as she moved to the ladder and sang as she climbed up over to sit on the ledge, her legs now inside the tank. "_Now all I want to know … is how to go. I've tasted blood and I want more …_"

Sam turned towards her, his body now pressed against her knees. He tried not to let his shock register when she opened her legs slightly so he could move closer. "_I'll put up no resistance. I want to stay the distance. I've got an itch to scratch_," she threw her head back, "_I need assistance_."

Her head snapped back and her eyes locked on Sam's. _"Toucha, toucha, toucha touch me,_" she sang as she reached for Sam's hands and placed them on her ribs right under her chest._ "I wanna be dirty. Thrill me, chill me, fulfill me. Creature of the night,"_ she continued as she slipped off the ladder and into his arms.

She shoved him back lightly, a playful smirk on her face. "_And if anything shows, while you pose_," she arched her brow, smirk still in place, "_I'll oil you up and drop you down_." At this point, she turned her back to him and slid to a crouching position and then popped right back up, eyes meeting his as she looked at him over her shoulder. "_And that's just one small fraction, of the main attraction. You need a friendly hand … and I need action!_" she sang out as she turned back into him and gripped his hand once again, moving them to her his and pressing into him slightly.

"_Toucha, toucha, toucha touch me,_" she sang as she swept her hands over his body, throwing her head back and wiggling her hips._ "__I wanna be dirty__. __Thrill me, chill me, fulfill me__. Creature of the night."_

They let the music run for the Magenta and Columbia parts, hands roaming each other's "safe places" before picking up the chorus once more.

"_Toucha, toucha, toucha touch me,_" she continued as Sam lifted her off the ground before gently laying her on her back at the bottom of the tank._"__I wanna be dirty__. __Thrill me, chill me, fulfill me__. Creature of the night."_ She threw her head back again, letting him settle over her body and keeping as much distance between them as possible.

They stayed relatively still as the parts for the others came through and then Rachel sang out, "_Creature of the night! Ohhh!_" and Sam dropped himself onto her small form.

And then they burst out laughing.

"Well, I don't think awkward's going to be a problem," Sam laughed as he shifted off of her.

"Not at all," she concurred with a smile as she stood up and came face-to-faces with Will, Finn and Quinn.

"Rachel!"

"Mr. Schue!"

"Rachel!"

"Finn!"

"Sam!"

"Uhh …"

"Rachel!"

"Mr. Schue!"

"Rachel!"

"Finn!"

"Sam!"

"Uhh …"

"Rachel!"

"Okay! Stop. This is …" Sam said, his eyes moving over to Quinn. "This is _totally_ not what it looks like. She … we … I …"

"You were just trying to get with my girl?" Finn demanded as he walked over to help Rachel climb out of the tank. "No way, dude. Play or no play, you stay the hell away from her."

"Finn, we were just rehearsing!" Rachel cried out.

"And why was it just the two of you?" he retorted, his eyes searching hers.

"I just wanted us to get comfortable with each other," Sam said as he tried to meet Quinn's eyes. "We knew it would be awkward …"

"Didn't look awkward to me, Avatar Boy. You looked pretty _damn_ comfortable from where I was standing. God!" she cried out as she threw her arms in the air. "What is it with the guys at this school and Rachel Freaking Berry?" she asked as she turned and stomped off the stage.

Will made to go after her but Sam quickly climbed from the tank. "I got this, Mr. Schue," he told the teacher before jogging off after Quinn.

"Finn? Rachel? You guys okay?"

"Sure, Mr. Schue," Finn said. "We'll talk it out. Because that's what mature couples do."

Rachel reached out to take Finn's hand, an oddly shy smile on her face. "Thanks, Mr. Schue. I think we just need to talk it out."

Will nodded. "Okay, guys. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya," Finn nodded as he watched the older man walk away. He then took a deep breath and looked back to Rachel. "So …" he said as he led her down the stairs and into the auditorium seats. "What was all that about?"

"Well, Finn," she said as she perched on the edge of the seat next to the one he lowered himself into, "as you know, since we've read the script through, Janet has … an intimate scene … with Rocky. And Sam thought …"

"Wait. This was _Sam's_ idea?"

"Of course it was! I would have been perfectly happy waiting until we were all together to rehearse. But he insisted that we get all of the awkwardness out of the way and, to be honest, after thinking about it, I agreed," she shrugged. "We were just singing and acting, Finn. There was nothing untoward going on. I promise." She stood and moved to sit on his lap and lifted her arms to wrap around his neck. "Before we started, I thought about how much I wanted to do this song with you," she whispered.

He smiled his half-grin and ducked his head before leaning up to press his lips against hers. "You know I trust you, right? It's _him_ I don't trust. It's _any guy_ aside from Kurt that I don't trust. I mean, you're beautiful, Rach. And I'm just … what if he started to like you?"

"He'd be out of luck," she smiled gently. "Because my boyfriend is the hottest guy in school and no one could ever threaten how I feel for him. He's _the one_."

Finn smiled again before quickly frowning in confusion. "Wait. You _are_ talking about _me_, right?"

"Yes, Finn," she smiled indulgently. "You're the _only one_."

He smiled again, his _I'm on top of the world and nothing can bring me down_ smile before whispering, "I love you," and leaning up to press a not-so-innocent kiss against her neck.

"Hey, Finn?" she asked him a little breathlessly.

"Yeah?" he breathed out, lips skirting over the skin where her shoulder and neck met.

"Wanna help me rehearse _Toucha_ _Toucha Toucha Me_?"

"Sure," he smirked.

She stood and took his hand, leading him towards the exit at the back of the auditorium.

"Uhh, Rach? Where are we going?" he asked in confusion.

"To rehearse. At my house." She turned and looked at him over her shoulder. "Dad and Daddy have a dinner party and won't be home until late. And I really wanna get this scene right. So we may have to go over it several times." She stopped and turned to face him. "Would that be okay with you? I mean, there's _a lot_ of touching involved."

Finn smirked and swept in for a heated kiss. "Well, we're burning daylight standing here! Let's go perfect that song!" he said as he strode from the auditorium, her hand encased in his.


End file.
